Rule Number One
by SkateLuh
Summary: "Are you time traveling!" "What? No. Don't be ridiculous, I'm trying to clone myself." "That's not any better!" Or the one where Farkle keeps showing up to class with bruises and scars, and Riley is determined to find out what's going on.


**A/N: This is my first Riarkle story, so I apologize if it's AU, I tried. I just have a lot of stories in the making on my other account and people will give me shit for not updating and creating another full blown one shot, so this was my solution because I'm sneaky ^-^  
**

 **Enjoy! Review, fav, I don't know man, do you.**

 **Descirption: "Ma'am, may I ask why you're blue?" "Unfortunately, I can't tell you that. Rule number one." Or the one where Farkle is hiding something and Riley is determined to find out what it is and she's gonna kick his ass for turning her blue.  
**

 **...**

It wasn't her choice, per say, but rather her friends (or maybe her own) lack of vigilance that eventually leads her to the emergency room.

Her eyes scan the bleak, depressingly quiet waiting area, her nails digging into her skin to ease the itching. Her skin was on _fire_ , a crimson red color hidden under a coat of blue.

Yes she said blue. Her skin was stained blue, she should probably clear that up first.

She had the brilliant idea of trying to get it out herself, which was completely irrational, considering she's ill-quipped to deal with such a dilemma. Forgive her for not having a Science 101 textbook handy at the time. She scrubbed so hard she's confident she's scrubbed five layers of her skin right off.

Her eyes meet with an elderly couple for what seems like the fifteenth time, and at first she was humiliated and sheepish under their horrified gazes but now she can feel herself turning quite bitter about this whole ordeal.

Scratching the itch on her neck, she raises her brows, because seriously, she's not an art display, she's here for the same reason they are; to heal herself. The couple quickly looks away and she leans back in her seat, jaw clenched.

 **283**

Her eyes drop to the piece of paper she'd crinkled in her hands a mere hour ago, the numbers replicating the one's shining in red, hung over the information desk.

Swinging her purse over her shoulder cautiously (you could place a feather on her skin right now and she will burst into tears) due to the sensitivity and irritation and stalks towards the desk with her head held high.

Before she can get situated in the chair, there's a frantic gasp. Pursing her lips, she meets the eyes of the lady behind the glass separating them, the woman's gaze wandering over her body in alarm.

"Ma'am, may I ask why you're blue?"

Taking her scratching hand off her cheek, she hums in response, shaking her head. "Unfortunately, I can't tell you that. Rule number one."

And she should probably start from the beginning.

 **...  
**

The world was ultimately _ending_ and no one is blinking an eye. Her eyes snap up to the clock reading it's ten past nine. Impulsively shaking her leg under her desk, worry looms over her as she looks at Maya in a panic. Farkle hadn't been late to a class in his entire life, a tornado warning wouldn't stop this kid.

Her actions go completely over Maya's head as the blonde ducks away from Lucas. "I swear to high heaven, Heehaw, touch my hair again and I will _end_ you."

Okay, clearly they were gonna be no use to her.

She's about to raise hell just as the boy in question walks into the room sluggishly, his head lowered in an attempt to hide something.

She keeps her eyes straight, boring into the chalkboard as she debates what to say to him. She's too curious about the world to not divulge into his privacy, there were no secrets in the group, the words came from the boy himself. She waits, her leg bouncing up and down until he's sliding into his seat, the thump of his bag hitting the floor.

She casts a glance at her father scurrying through papers on his desk, then whips around in her seat to face the brown haired boy behind her. "Farkle."

He looks up at her slowly with an awkward smile that didn't reach his eyes. Her cold stance falls to a slum when her eyes catch the marks on his arms, running down to the tips of his fingers. The skin looked dried out, flaky. Parts were inflamed, fire red where he didn't apply the ointment that glistened off the rest of his arms.

Her gaze raises back to his with a confused frown, her mind running over ever bad scenario.

He can sense the panic start to collect in her head and he reaches for her. "Riley..." He starts in attempt to appease her, stopping the storm brewing between them.

"Explain." Her voice lowers to the demand, folding her arms over his desk.

Farkle takes a hesitant breath, glancing around the room before turning back to her, shrugging. "While I appreciate your concern, I can't do that."

She watches him swallow hard as her body boiled with rage, her pupils dilating as she pulls back. So, his words only have meaning when it doesn't involve him? She holds one secret and he tells everyone on the roof in the middle of the night when the fire works go off, and the cheering starts and now he expects her to just let this go? _Ha._

"You know well enough that I'm gonna find out eventually." Is the last thing she says to him before turning back around. She makes sure not to acknowledge him for what's left of the day.

 **...**

She's already placed herself in the bay window when Maya crawls in. She holding a book to her face, but the repetitive images of Farkle's sores earlier that morning were enough to make her stomach churn. Which in turn, only got her two sentences into the novel. In a thirty minute occasion.

"'Sup with you today, Peaches?"

Dropping the book dramatically into her lap, she huffs, pulling her feet up to her chest to give the blonde room. "Farkle." She snaps, as if that's enough of a reason and Maya would totally understand what she meant.

Maya blinks back at her for a moment, tilting her head, dropping into the spot next to her. "Care to elaborate on that?" She says slowly, her brows stitching together in utter confusion.

Riley springs up from the bench, the book tumbling to the floor, she doesn't notice as she paces the room. She's gone over every possibility, given the amount of time she's had to process the situation and she's come to one logical explanation.

"The wheels are turning," Maya jokes, pulling her legs up to cross them, her eyes following the brunette running back and forth.

Riley tilts her chin up, triumphantly. "I've figured it out, Maya. This morning I couldn't figure it out, but I've reached a reasonable conclusion."

Maya stands up slowly, causing Riley to pause. "Riles, are you saying what I think you're saying?"

The blonde's skeptical expression throws her off, opening and closing her mouth as she thinks about what could be going on in the other girl's mind. After a moment, she nods.

Maya grabs her shoulders, eyes wide. "Oh man, Zay owes me fifty bucks!" She quips, letting go of her tight grip on Riley's shoulders to clap her hands together, blue eyes shining bright with satisfaction.

She's a bit taken aback by her friend's behavior. Farkle was in danger and they're placing bets? This whole friendship between them all is burning up in flames. She clamps a hand to her heart, making a face. "How could you bet on something so horrific? Not even that, but-but _hazardous_ , completely unjustified, Maya!" She stammers, bringing her hand to her head. She could not believe what she was hearing right now.

Maya let's out a chuckle, waving her off, flopping back down at the bay window. "'Cause everyone knew you two would eventually happen. Except Zay, much to my advantage." She says casually, missing the way her friend chokes in shock.

Riley's face pales, eyes glossed over as she took in what the blonde was saying. "I-I need to sit." She whispers (more to herself than Maya) and sinks into her mattress.

She thought she was talking about...oh. _Oh god_. What? No. That doesn't even make sense, she gave no signs suggesting she liked Farkle. Her heart picks up, maybe she had and not realized it? Maya was nothing but a realist, she wouldn't point out something that seized to exist, right?

But the again, she knows her own feelings, she would have known had there been something there. She's innocent, not a dumbass.

Okay, too much thinking, she can feel the start of a headache approaching.

"You're shocked." The blonde says blatantly. "That's not what you wanted to say..." She continues slowly, edging the girl to explain.

Riley snaps back out of her gaze, the words taunting her. "Fight Club, Maya, I was gonna say I think Farkle is in Fight Club!" She squeaks, frantically running her hands through her hair.

This morning she had one problem to indulge into, now she has two.

Maya barks out a laugh, shaking her head as tears started to form in her eyes. Clutching her stomach, she waves a hand up to the brunette. "One mi-just, I can't. Farkle? Our Farkle? No way in _hell_. You're talking about the boy who jumped on your Dad's back because the sprinklers went off that one time." Riley doesn't make a sound. "Oh shit, you're serious. So, you don't like Farkle?"

Riley huffs, standing back up from the bed. "I don't know what you're implying, but I have no romantic feelings for Farkle. I was talking about the wounds on his arms this morni-stop laughing."

"What wounds, Peaches?"

Clearly she's gonna have to Sherlock Homes this herself.

 **...  
**

She may have eventually let it go (not really) had he not shown up for school the next day, sporting a tenser bandage around his shoulder.

And she's had _enough._

She waits until the bell rings and everyone's rushing out the door to their next classes to drag him into the girls bathroom.

"Riley, I have a Maths test in four minutes!" She ignores his pleas, locking the door behind her before leaning back against it with a scowl. Her eyes run over his injured shoulder.

"And you will miss that test unless you fill me in on what's happening to you."

Farkle groans, "Riley, I already told you I can't do that."

Tangling her fingers together nervously, she strides towards him, looking him in the eye. "Are you in _fight club_?" She whispers.

The boy blinks back at her for a few awkward moments. "Excuse me?"

"Fight club, Farkle!" She flails her arms up in a frantic motion, her voice a pitch higher.

"Absolutely not, I would never lower myself to such barbarian behavior."

"Then what is it!"

"Much like Fight club, the first two rules are not to be discussed outside the premise."

"That doesn't justify anything, Farkle!"

 **...  
**

"Okay, how's this?" Riley shouts from the inside of her closet, throwing another piece of fabric behind her. When she doesn't get an answer, she glances back, watching Maya step over pile after pile of clothes.

"Peache-"

"No, I got it!" She pipes up, flinging out of the closet into a pose, tilting her head up and kicking her foot out to show off her matching camouflage outfit.

Maya snorts, reaching down to pick up lose clothes she's scattered along the floor. "Why do you even have that?"

All she needed was the blonde's approval before she went out to decipher exactly what's going on with Farkle. She told him she was gonna figure it out and after three days, she's finally mustered up enough courage and decided if he won't tell her, she's gonna follow him.

Ignoring Maya's criticism, she purses her lips, tightening the headband around her head. "I refuse to answer that question."

Maya drops her arms, straightening her back, eyes flickering in sadness. "Do you honestly think he's in trouble?"

"You saw the scars yesterday."

"I did." Maya nods.

"Well, I'm not waiting until he's coming to school with a full body cast. If he won't tell me, I'm gonna figure it out myself."

 **...**

"Ow, crap." She hisses, retracting her arm as another branch pokes at her skin. She's been sitting in these bushes for twelve painful minutes outside Farkle's apartment and if she gets pricked by one more thorn, she's gonna lose it.

A car roars to a stop, just a few parking spots away from where she's camped out and she ducks when she recognizes Farkle's car.

She could not _believe_ no one talked her out of this, this was the most insane thing she's ever done.

But adrenaline is pumping through her and there's such a rush, she finally understands why people sky dive. Well, not necessarily, as staking someone out isn't a 1 in 100,000 chance of dying, but nonetheless, that 1 percent is crucial and this is about as dangerous as she's willing to get. But she understands the need to feel as alive as she feels right now, doing something you're not supposed to, knowing you could get caught at any moment.

And to think Farkle of all people would push her to these absurd actions. All she knows is she wants to feel hyped, again and again.

"If you're going to camouflage yourself with the tree's, it's probably best to not wear _pink_ camouflage, but that's just my opinion."

Cringing, she pops her head out of the bushes, Farkle starring back at her with the least unimpressed look she's ever seen. "He-eey Farkle."

Crossing his arms over his chest, he sighs. "What are you doing?"

Stepping out of the leaves, she pats herself down, smoothing out the wrinkles on her shirt. "Just...sight seeing."

"It's a parking lot."

"Don't judge me."

With a shake of his head, Farkle lets out a chuckle. "You're not gonna stop, are you?"

"Absolutely not."

"Alright, fine."

 **...  
**

She honestly didn't know what to expect when she stepped into his room, seeing nothing out of the ordinary.

"Is this a joke?"

Farkle takes a quick glance at her as he closes his bedroom door. "Just wait."

Before she knows what's happening, he's at the other end of his room, taking a large painting down of a superhero she didn't know the name of, revealing an in-the-wall computer.

Watching him type away, she looks around blankly. This was like finding out your best friend has a whole secret life- _oh wait_ , that is what's happening. Stalking towards him, she opens her mouth to start giving him shit, just as a section of the wall pulls out and opens to the side, revealing the chaos behind the wall.

Farkle rocks on the balls of his feet silently, waiting for her reaction.

And what in the hell is supposed to be her reaction to this? Was she supposed to be filled with joy? Because she's _not_! She's really, really _not_! She is the exact _opposite_ of joyful. She's confused, frustrated, insulted.

Poking her head inside the room, she takes in the white walls. There's laboratory coats hung in the far corner, glass shelves that reach the ceiling across one wall, full of unknown chemicals. Four connecting long metal desks on the other side, scattered with beakers, test tubes, microscopes and two sinks. In the corner was a huge cylinder shaped machine in the making. And to be honest kind of looks like the tubes those people used in the Hunger Games to shoot the districts up into the playing field, except those were clear, this was closed off, only a large squared window in the middle, with a handle. There was a giant pipe at the top that connected to another large machine beside it that just had multiple buttons all of sizes, with a screen smack dab in the middle.

Her breath hitches as she backpedals, trying to process everything she's just seen.

Farkle takes a cautious step towards her. "I know it's a lot to take in-"

Her eyes widen at his casualness. "A lot to take- _Farkle_! That is the understatement of the year!" She squeaks, pushing past him into the room. This is not the type of adrenaline she was taking about earlier. Why did she have to persist and pry, look where that's gotten her, in the brain of the operation to take over the world. She's certain that's what he's trying to do.

Why couldn't he be a normal boy and join fight club?

Her eyes stop back on the machine in the corner, before she turns around. She flinches when she realizes how close he is. Farkle takes a step back, clearing his throat. And how had she not noticed he had freckles before?

"Let me explain." He says after a minute, adjusting his beanie on his head as he walks over to the machine.

She nods slowly, her mind in the clouds. She was just...speechless.

She eyes him suspiciously, pressing a bunch of buttons before the machine makes a thumping noise, lighting up, electricity running through the connected tubes. Her heart beat pounds in her ears, a shiver running down her spine.

And she thinks she knows what this is.

"It's time traveling isn't it?!"

"What? No, don't be ridiculous. I'm trying to clone myself."

"How is that any better!"

 **...  
**

After three days of completely alienating Farkle from her life, she makes a rash decision. He definitely made it hard for her to ignore him, making sure she was in full few of the fresh cut on his jaw (which definitely was more defined than she thought) getting up to grab random papers he didn't need, sharping pencils that didn't need sharping, just so he was in her point of vision.

And all she wanted to do was drag him by the arm (not the one with the injured shoulder) and just _fix_ him. Because he was not taking care of those cuts and bruises and it was driving her _insane._

That's why she's at his apartment just as the sun is going down, knocking furiously the next day.

When he opens the door, despite his shock, he lets her in.

Dropping her large suitcase on the coffee table, she turns around with a look of determination. "Okay, what do I need to do?"

Farkle's brows furrow in confusion. "For what?"

"You clearly can't keep yourself out of harm's way with all these crazy experiments you're doing, so I'm helping out."

"Yeah, no."

"I don't remember asking for your opinion." She snaps, crossing her arms over her chest.

Farkle glances down at her chest for a millisecond before looking back up at her, squeezing his eyes close. "It's too dangerous."

She purses her lips. "So what?"

"I said no."

"You don't control me."

She can see the anger building up in the boy's posture, clenching his fists, jaw locked. He shoots her a provocative look. "I don't want you getting hurt Riley."

She stares at him for a moment, she's never seen him so frustrated with her. "I won't get hurt." She implores.

"Yes you will and I'll be damned if I let it happen on my watch, because of my equipment. I care way too much about you to practically let you walk into a death trap!" He grunts, walking past her, their shoulders bumping softly.

"I'm not letting you be this reckless!" She shouts, clenching her own fists. Her body gone stiff with anger. Why won't he let her _help_ him, what is _wrong_ with this boy?

He turns back around with a straight face, eyes hooded.

She lets out a dry laugh. "I'm either here, or we're both not stepping back in that room. Your injuries were excruciatingly bad and I refuse to let you just do it again, so unless the next thing you say is to agree to my ultimatum, don't utter another word."

"You infuriate me."

"Thanks, now where do we start?"

 **...  
**

"Ow!"

Riley slaps his hand away with a stern look. "Don't be such a baby, Farkle." She mutters, placing the petroleum jelly back on the counter. "If you would have confided in someone about this and not try to fix the burns yourself, they would have healed up by now."

"I'm a scientist, not a doctor." He mumbles grumpily from his spot on the toilet.

"You don't have to be a doctor to know you don't use cortisone on burns!"

"It's anti-inflammatory, anti-allergy, and I'm allergic to a variety of things, I was taking the safe route."

Rolling her eyes, she squeezes back between his legs, grabbing his face in her hands.

And jeez, he really had matured hasn't he? There's an uneasy feeling stirring in her stomach as she turns his head to look at the scratch on his jaw. "Okay, you've explained the whole process of what you're doing," She starts, grabbing a cloth to clean the wound. "But, how did you manage burn wounds, an injured shoulder and a scratch on your face?"

She turns his head back to her and he stars at her intently for a few moments, causing her stomach to flip before he purses his lips. "The burns were from the phosphoric acid when I dropped the test tube by accident." He pauses. "My shoulder was just from walking into a locker at school."

She hums in response, grabbing the petroleum jelly. "And the scratch?"

"Oh, that was just to get you to talk to me again." He admits and she stops.

"Why?"

"Because you're...my friend. And I hate when you're mad at me."

Without thinking, she hits his shoulder, causing the boy to scrunch his face in pain. "You injured yourself on purpose? What is wrong with you?"

"I'm sorry!"

"This is why you can't be left alone!"

 **...  
**

"Gloves, Farkle!"

Farkle sighs heavily, dropping the beaker back on the counter. "Riley."

"And the safety goggles! You'd think after your third injury, you'd be a little more cautious!" She lectures from the other side of the metal table, watching the chemicals at work.

"I know what I'm doing." He implies, shrugging his lab coat off his shoulders.

She's been here almost every day for two weeks and her blood pressure was through the roof. She gives him a lot of credit for his intelligence but that's slowly fizzling out with his impetuous, careless behavior. Despite that, he takes his work very seriously.

Like _very_ seriously.

 _"Although you jumped to conclusions and assumed I was in fight club, I have similar rules. Rule number One, what we do here doesn't leave these walls. It's so important, it's also rule number Two._

 _"I'm telling Maya."_

 _"I'm gonna ignore the fact that you're breaking a rule five seconds after it was declared, and move onto rule number 3. Two people in here at a time, and that's it. It was one, me, but you've wedged your way in, so now it's two."_

"So, what are you planning to do once you accomplish this? Build a Farkle Army and take over the world like you always wanted to?"

"Precisely."

"Farkle!"

"Riley!"

Fingers tapping against the desk, she gives him a cold stare.

Farkle gives in, shoulders dropping. "I...don't know what I'm gonna do. I just...want something to be proud of. Maya's going to be a great artist, Lucas is probably gonna be a cliche star football player. And you...you may not know what you wanna do with the rest of your life, but I know you're gonna change the world in the best way you can." He pauses, his nose scrunched. "Don't know what Zay's gonna be, but no doubt, something kick ass."

Her face drops, mirroring his own complexion. She hated seeing him so sad and the desire to make him feel better was stronger than anything she's ever felt. Except that time her gold fish died when she was four, but that's irrelevant.

"But what am I gonna be, you know? _Who_ am I gonna be? I don't wanna end up like my father, completely isolating himself from everyone for Minkus International. But maybe I won't even have that choice, maybe I won't even make it as a scientist, may-" He's cut off by Riley engulfing him in a hug so hard it sends them both crashing to the ground.

They hit the floor with a bang, her body hovering over his. Oh. Oh god. She wanted to make him feel better, not break his spine.

And speaking of, she banged her knee against the ground and crap it's really hurting now. Not the brightest idea she's ever had.

Farkle still has yet to say anything, probably in shock that the girl he's been in love with since the first grade was on top of him.

Scrambling to get up, she drops right back down in pain, tears pooling in her eyes.

Farkle shoots up at her distress, kneeling down beside her. "Are you okay?" His voice is frantic and panicky and _so_ not helping the situation.

"You're supposed to be the calm one!" She yells, her voice cracking as she grabbed at her knee.

"Calm was never my strong suit!" He yells back, fumbling around to find something to help her. "I knew this was gonna happen! I warned you about this!"

Looking up, she growls. "Do not yell at me!"

"I'm not yelling!"

"You're yelling!"

Dropping back down in front of her, he pulls her pants leg up, clearing his throat nervously. "Okay. Okay, you're bleeding."

With the short distance between them, she gives him a look. "Thank you, had I not realized, I could have bled out to death."

Ignoring her sarcasm, he grabs the cloth from her suitcase (she literally brought everything in case of an expected injury) and holds it against her knee. "I'm sorry- for yelling at you I mean." He looks into her eyes with all seriousness. "And about not telling you about this. I know I said we shouldn't keep secrets, but I was just...I don't know, I felt I needed to prove something to myself."

And then before she even realizes what she's doing, her lips are on his. And she doesn't know why she does it, but she hated when his eyes were full of guilt, his normal confident falters and he has this broken, heart wrenching look on his face. She needed to just make it stop, make it go away.

She pulls away slowly, eyes fluttering open when he doesn't kiss back.

Silence fills the tension suffocating her and she takes a breath at the boy starring at her with a blank expression. Well, her heart just completely shattered, that's fine. She staggers to get up, pulling her pant leg back down.

Farkle stands up slowly with her, holding the abandoned cloth loosely in his hands. His mouth opens to say something but closes it sharply.

Lifting her chin, she takes another breath. "I'm just gonna-"

"Yeah."

"Clean the tables and leave." She tears her eyes away from his. "It's almost seven, I have to be home for dinner, " She starts rambling, grabbing something she thinks is spray cleaner and rubs down the first counter, but not before knocking the bottle all over the counter (and herself).

Looking down, she starts to panic, purple sinking into her clothes. Her eyes meet Farkle's wide ones.

"Riley, that's Gentian Violet!"

"I'm sorry, what?"

"It's an antiseptic dye! You need to wash it off right now or it'll stain!"

"Stain for how long?!"

Farkle pauses. "...About a week."

"WHY IS THIS IN YOUR CABINET FARKLE!"

"IT'S A GOOD ANTI-BACTERIAL AND FOR CUTS AND BRUISES, IT DOESN'T MATTER JUST WASH IT OUT!"

"THEN APPOINT ME TO A FREAKING BATHROOM!"

 **...  
**

And that's why she's here.

"Ma'am, may I ask why you're blue?"

Taking her scratching hand off her cheek, she hums in response, shaking her head. "Unfortunately, I can't tell you that. Rule number one."

The woman shoots her a suspicious look, clearly she thinks she's crazy. "I need to know, in order for you to see a doctor..."

You know what, after what just happened, screw his rules. She's colored Violet and she's angry.

Slamming her hands down on the desk, she slaps a smile on her face. "I found out my best friend is an evil scientist, has a secret laboratory, I kissed him, spilt Gentian Violet all over myself, tried to scrub it out, now my skin is burning like Satan's asshole. Please appoint me to a Doctor."

 **...  
**

Explaining this to her parents was quite a trip (she leaves out the whole secret room and explains she was helping Farkle with spring cleaning) and surprisingly, her Dad doesn't freak out.

In fact he laughs. Laughs so hard he had to sit on her bedroom floor, making Avatar jokes until he couldn't breath.

Maya was a little harder to convince.

 _"You're lying."_

 _"I am not."_

 _"You freaked out for a week about what he was up to. When you do find out, you refuse to tell me, because of some stupid rule you guys made up, then come out looking like Papa Smurf. Explain."_

She eventually caved and told her everything, the lab, the kiss, the bruises, the dye. To which she laughed and proceeded with, _"Gotta go, Zay has to give me that 50 back!"_

No doubt, both Zay and Lucas now know about her condition and she has yet to see Farkle since the kiss two days ago.

Speaking of which, she sits up in her bed, squinting at the shadow lurking outside her window. The hairs rise on her arms, she's teetering between finding out who it is and calling her Dad in with a bat.

She can hear hushed whispers and flings her blankets off. Padding over to the window, his features become clear and she whips the window open, causing the boy to jump.

"Farkle." She draws out, holding in a laugh.

Clearing his throat, he fixes his beanie. "Sorry, I was just.." He stops, eyes running over her body. "How are you doing?"

She pulls back with a taunting smile, gesturing to her face and chest. "I am now a nice lavender color, thanks to sugar, oil and sandpaper. Should come out fully in the next few days." She explains.

Yes, that's exactly what the doctor she waited two hours for told her. She was just glad she didn't have to wait a week to get this stuff out, she has school and refused to mess up her perfect attendance because she resembled a crayon.

He nods, ducking his head. "Right, well...you're still beautiful, doesn't matter what color you are." He whispers and she sits down slowly on the bench, threading her fingers together.

"What are you doing here Farkle?"

Out of the corner of her eye, she can see him hesitate, glancing around before crawling in beside her. His thigh presses against hers and why is he so close? This was not what friends do, this is not friendly behavior for someone who didn't kiss her back.

She can hear his breathing pick up, wondering why he's so nervous.

"We need to talk about the kiss. I had cue cards, but that didn't work out so well with Lucas, so I memorized everything."

She cringes. "Bringing up the kiss and my ex in once sentence, not the best way to go."

His face turns crimson red. "That's...oh god I ruined it. I haven't even begun and I've ruined it."

With a light chuckle, she places a hand on his thigh to calm him down. "Look, Farkle, I'd just prefer if we don't talk about this, Okay?"

His eyes follow her hand then back up to meet her eyes with a frown. "You can't avoid your feelings, Riley."

She huffs, taking her hand off him. "I get it, Farkle, okay? You don't feel the same way, please don't drag this out and make it hurt more." She whispers, watching him stand up quickly.

"That's not what I came here to do." He says softly, "Riles, I've been in love with you since the first grade, you surprised me and I panicked. I never expected you to like me, let alone kiss me. And the fact that you think I don't like you is ridiculous," He lets out a small laugh. "Have you not been paying attention at all?"

Riley stands up, tilting her head with a teasing smile. "I thought you loved Maya and I equally?"

He narrows his eyes at her implication. "There's a distinct line between love and _in_ love, Riles."

Her body vibrates with adrenaline and _this_ was the adrenaline she seeked. It wasn't hiding in bushes (which she now realized was because it was _his_ bushes and not because she was staking someone out) and it wasn't sky diving, it was _him._

He takes a few steps back as she jumps on him, wrapping her legs around his waist, smashing her into his. His hands eventually wrap around her thighs to steady her, keeping her from slipping away and moves his lips against hers.

Her leg slips slightly, causing her to gasp into his mouth. He pulls her leg back up, tightening his grip, taking the advantage of her opened mouth to slip his tongue in.

Her body prickles with sensation, craving him. And she has never had a kiss like this, she's so glad she waited because this, this feeling, is what she was waiting for.

Farkle pulls away slowly, pressing his head against hers. "Take that, subway train kiss with Lucas." He whispers cockily against her lips and she snorts in laughter. "So what to say. You. Me. And the rest of our lives?"

 _"You. Me. Mars. Let's do this thing."_

 _"You. Me. Earth."_

She thinks that's actually extremely clever and wonders how long he's been cooking that one up."

He blows up their wedding cake by accident thirteen years later when he wants flames to come out the top because i _t's badass and original and Farkle Minkus will not have an ordinary wedding_ -but if she could go back, she wouldn't change a thing.

Apart, they were walking disasters waiting to happen, but together...well they were still extremely prone to accidents, but being together made it not so bad.


End file.
